The Nets offence took a big hit when leading scorer Caris LeVert went down with that gruesome ankle injury 10 games ago. Joe Harris has stepped up nicely in his absence, but he’s not LeVert and just returned from his own absence in the loss to Oklahoma City after a three-game absence due to left adductor tightness. The Nets have lost eight in a row, but they’ve been in most of the games. Achilles’ Heel right now appears to be finishing on the right side of tight games. They have lost each of their past two games by just two points.

MARQUEE MATCHUP

Jonas Valanciunas vs. Jarrett Allen

A rare chance for the Raptors to choose to start Valanciunas against a big who doesn’t step outside that well and one that, when he has, had struggled from behind the arc. Allen, though, is extremely athletic and a good test for Valanciunas, who is coming off one of his most efficient and best games of the year in the win over Philadelphia where he had 26 points in just 18 minutes. Allen will also be a good test in the rebounding department, an area the Raptors are slowly but surely addressing. He is a force at both ends pulling down an average of 8.3 a night in total.

DID YOU KNOW

The Raptors swept the season series last season, winning all four games and have won the past six against Brooklyn both at home and on the road … The Nets actually have a better road record (5-8) than they do a home record which is 3-10 … Former Raptor Ed Davis comes off the bench, leads the league in offensive rebound percentage and is third in rebound percentage overall, behind just Andre Drummond and Hassan Whiteside … Spencer Dinwiddie, who had a coming-out season a year ago, comes off the bench for the Nets and is second in the league in assists off the bench and is fourth in scoring among subs behind just Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell and Jordan Clarkson.